


Christmas

by zephsomething



Series: Surviving the War [64]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephsomething/pseuds/zephsomething
Summary: Ginny brings the boys to visit Harry at Hogwarts for Christmas break
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Series: Surviving the War [64]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/813804
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This is the end of 2005 kids! We're slowly making our way through the years! 
> 
> Thanks to @ithopoiia for editing for me!

Harry felt like he was floating for the whole last day of lessons before winter break. The part of him that still noticed those sorts of things noticed that McGonagall spent the day barely concealing that she was rolling her eyes at him, that his students spent the day exchanging whispers and smirks, and that a number of the other staff also had an extra bounce in their step.

When the last of those students who were leaving were finally on the train Harry called his broom to himself and flew straight to the window of his office. His rooms were attached to the office. It was not immediately clear from the outside of the castle just how large his rooms were. They were rather large though. Even after three years of living part time at Hogwarts Harry was having a hard time making the rooms seem at all lived in. He just didn’t own enough stuff.

He set about pulling out a few spare blankets and getting the cots set up for the boys to sleep in. He was just putting the tablecloth Molly had made him for last Christmas set up on the table when he heard his door open.

“Professor?” Laila’s voice carried through his office and into his rooms as easily as it carried across the pitch to her team. Harry was sure she’d be the Ravenclaw captain next year. “Professor McGonagall said to remind you windows aren’t actually appropriate entrances.”

“Did she send you because you were hanging around or because she didn’t want to make the walk?” Harry called back and gave the cloth a last tug.

“She said she didn’t feel the need to come tell you herself again.” Laila’s head appeared around his doorway, followed quickly by the rest of her body. “I told her she should magic your windows shut if she really wanted to stop having to tell you not to fly in them.”

“You’re far too comfortable with your professors Laila.” Harry sighed and raised an eyebrow at her.

“I’m just surprised there aren’t more people who’re comfortable with your lot, professor.” She shrugged and glanced around, one eyebrow creeping up her forehead. “Expecting company?”

“Hmm.” Harry nodded and made a shooing motion with his hands as he walked towards the doorway she was leaning on. “My wife and boys are coming for the break, out you go.”

As they walked back through his office the fireplace suddenly flared green and tall. Laila turned with him to look at it and her eyes widened as Ginny stepped through with one boy in each arm.

“Holy shit.” She whispered the words and Harry barely held back a laugh. “Ginny Weasley is your wife.”

“You knew that already, her picture is on my desk.” Harry grinned as Ginny raised an eyebrow at him.

“Knowing it factually and actually seeing Ginny Weasley in person are two different things.” Laila rolled her eyes at him like he was the one missing the obvious. “Ginny Weasley who is almost for sure going to be a Holyhead Harpies chaser within the next few years. I’m going to get your chocolate frog card as soon as they make one.”

“Are you?” Ginny, who Laila’s last statement had been directed towards, did not hold back her chuckle. Instead she gestured towards the door to the class as she put James down. The door swung shut before he could bolt for it. “Hello Harry’s student, hi Harry, your godson has been teaching our child how to explore. It’s been weeks of- do you remember that time Andromeda left Teddy at our apartment and we thought he was napping? It’s been weeks of that.”

“Ah,” Harry nodded and knelt just in time to stop James from running full tilt into his knees. “You’re looking well, considering.”

“How kind of you.” She smirked and ran a hand lightly over her belly. “I’m sure this one is going to be nicer than these two were, if the pregnancy is anything to go by.”

“Teddy here??” James tugged on Harry’s collar insistently. “Teddy play!”

“What? Not even a hello for me first?” Harry grinned at him.

“Hello!” James stopped tugging for a millisecond before resuming. “Teddy here?”

“No, Teddy’s gone to Aunt Andromeda’s for winter break. This is Laila, she’s sort of like Teddy, except she can’t change her face quite so fast.”

“Not unless I want it to be a lot more permanent.” Laila grinned down at him. “Hello little one, what’s your name?”

“James!” He pointed at his chest, clearly pleased with himself, and then jabbed a finger towards Ginny and Albus, then at Harry. “Mummy, Albus, dad.”

“Why thank you for the introductions James.” Laila nodded, trying and failing to look serious. “I’d been wondering who my professor was.”

“Silly.” James giggled and then tugged on Harry’s collar again. “Daddy, Lala silly.”

“I’m aware, little man.” Harry chuckled and carefully moved his little hands off of his collar. Beside him Ginny was perched on his desk as Albus made little fussing noises. “Laila, would you mind taking him exploring? Staying out of any secret passages mind.”

“Why professor, I wouldn’t know anything about secret passages.” Laila pressed a hand to her chest in mock shock. Then she grinned down at James and offered him her hand. “Want to see the moving staircases? I promise you won’t fall off.”

“Yeah!” James moved his grip from Harry to Laila easily, already tugging her towards the door.

“She seems nice.” Ginny shifted Albus, who made a whining sort of noise in response. “Are you hungry or did you just not like the floo darling?”

“She summers at Grimmauld.” Harry said by way of explanation. “I could feed him if you brought a bottle.”

“Just the old fashioned kind.” Ginny smirked at him and Harry rubbed at the back of his neck.

“So much for helping.” He spread his hands. “I should finish giving the classroom its pre-winter break clean anyway.”

Ginny waved him off, settling easily on the couch he’d added to his rooms during one of his attempts at making it seem lived in.

The days of the break blurred together. James took the castle by storm, often with one of Harry’s students running after him. For all of his energy it was never hard to find a student willing to chase after James for an afternoon to give Harry and Ginny a chance to relax together. Often it was one of the kids who summered at Grimmauld who volunteered, one of them had even come up with a timetable of sorts. All of them reported that on the rare time they’d lost sight of him they’d find him again stuck in a curtain, held by a statue, or chatting to the paintings. These reports, after the first one, were given to Ginny out of Harry’s ear shot.

Before long it was Christmas day and everyone was in the great hall for the feast. The house elves had outdone themselves, and Harry made a mental note to stop by and tell them so. This year there were enough students staying over the break that the tables remained in their usual set up, though most of the kids ended up grouped up at the hufflepuff table. The staff was thinner than usual but filled out by the family who’d joined them at the school. McGonagall’s wife, a lovely woman with a sharp smile and sharper wit, sat beside her, Hannah had come to visit Neville, and of course, there was Harry’s family. Beside Harry, James happily mashed all his food together and got it all over himself, including somehow, behind his ears. Albus was sitting in Ginny’s lap and Harry found himself several times just staring at her as she played the juggling act of eating and letting Albus try the foods that were soft enough for his small handful of teeth. All four of them were wearing bright green sweaters patterned with snitches and quaffles, all four sweaters with the first letter of their names in gold thread on the front.

“Harry you’ve got to stop staring at me.” Ginny’s voice knocked Harry out of his thoughts and he felt the tips of his ears go red. She just rolled her eyes at him. “James is trying to eat the tablecloth.”

“Oh, James that’s not food.” Harry turned to frown at James, who just grinned at him with a mouth full of tablecloth.

“Yummy doh.” He replied, only pulling the tablecloth out with Harry raised an eyebrow. “Food fell.”

“That’s why it’s there, you don’t stick it in your mouth.” Harry sighed

“Oh, the things children get up to.” Flitwick twittered from the other side of James. “Now you listen to your father little one, he should know all about the sorts of things you don’t put in your mouth.”

“Sir please.” Harry just narrowly avoided slamming his head into the table. He couldn’t even really recall which of his many adventures at Hogwarts Flitwick might be talking about. That alone was enough really.

“We all had to learn somehow, some of us just took longer.” Flitwick nodded sagely at James, the serious effect of his tone and expression rather ruined by the clear twinkle in his eyes.

“Dad smart.” James nodded back as seriously as a toddler was able to be. “Mummy smarter.”

“You tell him, little man.” Ginny said from Harry’s other side.

“Mummy smarter?” James turned to look at Harry for confirmation.

“Yeah James, your mummy is the smartest.” Harry ruffled James’ hair. “Except for maybe aunty Hermione.”

“Depends on the day.” Ginny chuckled and leaned her shoulder into Harry’s. “What do you say we race after dinner?”

“It is snowing outside, though I don’t expect that will stop you two.” Flitwick shook his head and then leaned conspiratorially towards James. “I’ve never met anyone more keen on flying than your parents are.”

“Flying??” James perked up immediately and bounced in his chair. “Go voom!”

“Alright,” Harry grinned between Ginny and James. “We’ll race after dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to all readers, kudosers, and commenters! Y'all make my day everytime I see an email from Archive!


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